Investors should count on these dividends

Article Excerpt

Canadian Utilities and its parent ATCO get most of their revenue from operations in Alberta. That adds to the risk for their investors as the province faces two big drags on its economy—COVID-19 and sharply lower oil prices. Even so, the high-quality regulated utilities held by these companies should continue to reward investors with strong income and rising dividends. CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. (class A non-voting) is a buy. The company (Toronto symbols CU [class A non-voting] $32 and CU.X [class B voting] $32; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares o/s: 273.3 million; Market cap: $8.7 billion; P.S. ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 5.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.canadianutilities.com) distributes electricity and natural gas in Alberta and Australia. It also has 5 power plants—1 in Canada, 2 in Australia and 2 in Mexico. ATCO owns 52.2% of the company. Following a strategic review designed to spur shareholder value, in late 2019 Canadian Utilities sold its fossil fuel-based power plants in Canada for $821 million. It recorded a $139 million gain on…